Sensient Technologies Corporation $SXT Stock: Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Decreases Stake

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its position in Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) by 1.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 390,472 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,806 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Sensient Technologies were worth $51,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SXT. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 2,387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the third quarter worth $1,229,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,340,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gibbs Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 6.4% during the third quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 9,817 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Sensient Technologies Price Performance

Shares of SXT opened at $120.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.47, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.86. Sensient Technologies Corporation has a 1-year low of $82.60 and a 1-year high of $138.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.43. The company has a current ratio of 3.97, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.04. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 9.69% and a return on equity of 14.08%. The firm had revenue of $455.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $459.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies Corporation will post 4.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 9th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 9th. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SXT shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sensient Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Sensient Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Sensient Technologies from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Sensient Technologies from $157.00 to $154.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.67.

About Sensient Technologies

Sensient Technologies Corporation develops, manufactures and markets colors, flavors and other specialty ingredients used by manufacturers around the world. Its products serve industries including food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, personal care, cosmetics and household products. The company operates through businesses focused on colors, flavors and extracts, and related specialty ingredients. Its offerings include natural and synthetic color solutions, flavor systems and extracts, and ingredients designed for use in a range of consumer and industrial products.